Christmas Curiosity
by Pokeluv101
Summary: Located in modern time New York. Lyra couldn't help it, there was just something about her new co-worker Silver that sparked her curiosity. What harm would it be if she were to give him a Christmas present? SoulSilverShipping .:Oneshot:. Bonus chapter inside
1. Christmas Curiosity

**I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters**

**This is an AU based in modern time New York**

* * *

Lyra ran through the darken alley, ducking behind a trash can when the man she was following turned around.

His name was Silver Campbell.

Something about him intrigued her. He was Adonis personified. He was well over six feet and the top of her head only reach his shoulder. His auburn hair was longer than was in style and reached his shoulder. There was also something mysterious about his hard silver eyes. They held no colour beside grey yet she could drown in them. His over size jacket couldn't hide his wide shoulder and she could only imagine how it feels to be held but such a well able body. Despite his physical feature, he was able to maneuver his way around the city without causing a sound.

She knew it was silly for a twenty four year old woman to have a high school crush and to have one for such a dangerously looking man was worse. But then again, Lyra was not the average woman. She was the top reporter of the _New York Times_ and her instinct told her that there was more to the newest reporter then was meet the eye.

Her breath created a puff of vapour and wished she had decided to trail him some other day then this. It was a couple weeks before Christmas and it was snowing, adding to the already accumulation layer of snow on the ground.

He turned again and she pulled her trench coat closer around her. She slumped against the wall, pretending to be an homeless person. She let out the breath she was holding when he started to walk away. She stood up and counted to ten before she began following him again. She turned the next corner and found herself captive to two steel grey eyes.

Silver grabbed his stalker's throat and lifted him, slamming him against the wall. The culprit gasped and looked at him with fearful eyes. His neck was slender and Silver judged him to bee in his teens.

"Why are you following me?" Silver asked in a hard voice. He realize the boy couldn't speak so loosened his grip but didn't let go.

Lyra knew it was better not to say anything than to answer the man so remained quiet. She saw his eye twitch and knew he was getting impatient with her. He grabbed her scarf and pulled it off roughly.

Silver let go off her quickly as if she burned him but didn't step back. He recognized her as the sunny reporter that worked along side him. He had just started a little over two months ago and thought he was going to go crazy because of her! She sat at the desk across from him and she spent her time distracting him from his work. She was so damn forgetful that he believed the day she didn't ask for a pencil or paper was a sign of the apocalypse. Worse she had the habit of biting the end of _his_ pencil.

It wasnt like he didn't like her, she just annoyed him. Gold was constantly trying to get him to talk to her but he wanted as little interaction with his co-workers as possible. It wasn't that she was hard on the eyes, he found her very attractive. He wasn't looking for a relationship with anyone currently. She had light brown hair that was tied into two silly pig-tails. Her large brown eyes stared up at him with a mixture of fear and curiosity. There must have been fifty shades of brown in those eyes. Her body was slender and he blushes when he realized how it was pressed against him.

He took a stepped back and she slumped to the floor, rubbing her neck. Silver sighed and reached out a hand to her, helping her to her feet. "Let's try this again. Why were you following me?"

"I'm sorry but..." She trailed off trying to find a reasonable excuse. She beamed and searched her pockets, "I was going to return your pencil but you left before I could. I got curious about where the office's elusive mystery man goes after work so I followed you. I guess the reporter in me couldn't help it."

She laughed but he only scowled. "I'm going home. Since your curiosity is now appeased, you can go home."

"Wait, where do you live?" She ran after him, "maybe it's near my place and we could walk together. If its too far we can take a cab, it's dangerous to be walking in this part of town when it's dark."

"Says the girl who was following me home in the night and in one of the most dangerous part of the city." He muttered but she heard him.

"Hey I know karate. I was taught by the one and only, Bruce Lee. I watched every Kung-fu move out there!"

"Watching Jackie Chan movies doesn't make you an expert in martial arts." He told her blandly.

"Have anyone ever tell you that you're no fun?"

"Constantly." He rolled his eyes. Why was he even entertaining her by answering?

"And do you know why they do?" She didn't wait for him to respond before she answered for him, "It's because you're much too serious. I can understand why you would be at work but work's over now."

"Okay, Sally Sunshine-" He finally had enough of her chattering.

"It's Lyra." She placed her hands on her hips.

"Does it seem like I care? I may have to put up with at work but I don't have to after. I don't know how your friends can put up with you! I think the better question is: what go-happy island you just came from? Are you totally oblivious to the fact that I want to rip my hair out when you start talking? Can you just leave me alone? If you stop asking me for stuff because you're so damn forgetful would be great too!"

He turned when he saw tears wield up in her eyes. "I think you should go home now."

She didn't say anything and to be honest that was more painful to watch than if she were to yell at him. She stared at him with teary eyes before turning away from him. He had to admire her when she walked away with her head held high.

Lyra decided that it wasn't a complete fail. She decided to get him a 'I'm a completely arrogant jerk' T-shirt. She even decided to customize it and make it herself. Maybe she'll ask Crystal to teach her how to make it, it couldn't be that hard, could it? Maybe she should get him coal instead, less obvious.

She pulled out the little piece of paper from her pocket with Silver's name scribbled on it. It was just her luck that she drew the insensitive jerk's name. It was two weeks to Christmas and the office decided that it would be a great idea to have a Secret Santa draw and a party where they exchange gifts. They even set out a space for each employee so that a person can be given gifts early. Since she knew Silver was new she wanted to give him something extra special and decided to follow him to find what he wanted or needed.

She was so caught up in her rage that she found herself lost. She ran out of the alley in hopes that a taxi would be driving by. Just as she was about to walk into the lighted street a hand grabbed her arm. She thought it was Silver and turned around to tell him off.

"Look Silver, I'm sorry that-" She trailed off when she saw that it wasn't Silver but a stranger. A foul smelling breath hit her face and she thought that this new threat had been drinking. He was wearing a torn jacket with the hood pulled over his head. She felt something hard pressed against her ribs.

"Give me your money or I'll shoot!" The stranger hissed against her cheek and Lyra felt like gagging. "Looks like you and your boyfriend just got into a fight so he won't be saving you anytime soon."

Lyra gulped. Why didn't she walk faster or paid more attention? She whimpered when he jerked her arm back more.

"Hey! My arm doesn't bend that way."

"I just want your money, you little bitch." He said in a harsh whisper.

Lyra knew that he wanted her money more than he wanted to kill her. He forced himself behind her as a precaution to hide his face and she could feel the gun shaking against her hip. She drew in a shaky breath and force fear into her voice.

"Okay, I'll give you my wallet but I can't reach it when you're holding my arm back like that."

"Don't try anything funny." He snarled and loosened his grip on her. She thrust her head back, wincing when the back of her head connected with his chin. She knew not to turn her back on her enemy and give him an opening to attack her so when he let go she rolled away from him. She hit the trash can but manage to not pass out. She grabbed the trash can lid then kicked the trash can towards her attacker but it didn't slow him much.

"You little bitch!" He aimed his gun at her. She lifted the trash can lid in reaction to the sound of the gun going off.

All she heard was her harsh breathing and the air was thick with tension. She hadn't felt the bullet pierce her skin and no blood soak her clothes so she thought she was sent to heaven. She peaked over the edge of the trash can lid and saw that she was in the same alley.

The only difference was that Silver was standing above her. He was holding her attacker arm and she guessed that he had thrown her attacker aim askew.

Silver pulled out a gun from his pocket so quickly it seem to materialize in his hand.

"I'm not afraid to shot you and claim it as self defense!" Silver said in a deadly even voice, "I'm sure the lady will back me up on my claim."

Silver shoved him to the ground, twisting the man arm behind his back. He grabbed the man's gun and threw it in Lyra's general direction. "Lyra, get the gun and call the police."

She nodded and did as she was told while Silver tied the man to a pole with his hand behind his back using the sleeve of the man's jacket he ripped off.

"Should we wait for the police?" Lyra asked him. He didn't get a chance to reply before sirens were heard.

Silver spent the next few hours at the police station answering their questions before he was able to go home. When he walked out of the station he saw Lyra sitting on the bench near the entrance. She saw him and jumped up.

"I never got to thank you for what you did." She began, "Where did you learn how to fight like that?"

"My friend Gold is in the police force and he thought that it was good if we trained together." He explained.

"Gold Dallas?" He nodded, "I know his friend Crystal Hale, she's my sister! Isn't it ironic what a small world we live in?"

He nodded. "For such a small woman you can hold your own in a fight. Well, it's late so we should go home." He started to walk away but stop when he realized that she followed him, "Aren't you going to go home?"

"Can I go to your house and stay for a while? I don't know what direction my house is. I won't be that much trouble, I'll just make a call to Crystal and she could pick me up. My phone ran out of battery and I don't feel like waiting at a police station."

"I guess it won't be that much trouble." He rubbed the back of his head. He almost fell back when she launched herself at him with a hug.

"Thank you Silver! I guess you aren't as bad as I thought." He grunted in reply but she only smiled.

She followed him as he lead her back to his small apartment. It wasn't so bad, Lyra thought it was quaint and homey. There wasn't much furniture in the living room that connected with the kitchen.

"You can call your sister while I'm taking a shower." Silver didn't look to see if she answer, he just walked into what Lyra could only assume as the bathroom.

She decided that he didn't have much people over since the closest thing to a dining room was the low table he had in front of the couch. She had to go through a pile of old wrappers and scrap paper to find his home phone. She quickly called Crystal and explained to her the situation as well as Silver's address.

She snuck into his room when she heard the shower turn on. His bedroom was cleaner than his living room. His bed was pushed against the wall near the window and was facing a tv. There wasn't much so there was a lot of things that she could get him as a present. Then something caught her eye.

When Silver walked out it was oddly quiet yet there was a pleasant smell in the air. He rubbed the towel against the side of his head to dry has hair as he walked into the kitchen. Lyra was standing at his barely used oven.

"Hey Silver, I thought I'll make you some lasagna for you as thanks for saving me." She turned and found herself staring at his bare chest. She could count the individual muscles on his arms and chest. At least he had his pants on. What interested her the most was the tattoo on his left shoulder. She flushed when she realize she was staring and turned back to her cooking.

Luckily a car horn cut through her daze. "That must be Crystal! Just let that cool for a while then you can eat it."

She ran out the door before he could thank her. He walked over to the fridge and found a little note taped to the fridge. _Call me sometimes, Lyra_. Her number was scribbled underneath and he smiled without realizing he was. He placed it in his notebook before taking the lasagna to the couch. It was pretty good and he watched his Saturday night special.

* * *

He threw the crudely wrapped present onto the space labeled: Lyra Hale. They had gotten closer since that night but he was still passive to talking to other co-workers. She would often sit with him during their lunch break and he had to admit that he was getting use to having her sunny smile around. He saw that she came early today and reminded himself to ask her why. He saw her yawn and decided that she wasn't use to waking up so early.

"Did you get enough sleep last night?" He placed a Starbucks coffee in front of her.

"Yeah," she took the coffee and thanked him.

She didn't want to tell him that she tried to get to work earlier than him so that she could placed her Secret Santa present in his space without him seeing. She also got him another one so that he wouldn't suspect that she was his Secret Santa. She kinda overdid it with her wrapping but when she saw there was almost no presents in his space she had tried to make her present stand out as much as possible. He deserved to feel liked.

"Are you coming to the Christmas party tomorrow?" She asked.

"I don't like those kinds of parties," He shrugged. "My sister Blue was is coming home for Christmas so I'm just going to take my presents home and opening them there."

"Oh..." She was a little disappointed that she wasn't going to be there when he opened her present. "I guess it makes sense that you want to spend your Christmas with your family."

"You want to come?" He asked. "Gold is going to be there so maybe your sister Crystal can come to."

She beamed and he blushed, "Thank you Silver and I know what you're trying to do. Are you trying to be Gold's wingman and get him together with Crystal?"

"Do you think she will go for it?"

"Maybe." She laughed.

* * *

"My God Gold, you're so immature!" Crystal burst through the door with Gold closely following.

"There was a mistletoe!" Gold laughed, throwing his arm over her shoulder, "I had to kiss you or suffer twenty years of bad dating luck!"

Crystal only rolled her eyes at his outburst.

Lyra laughed at the sight of her sister and newly found friend laughing. She turned when someone tapped her on the shoulder.

"Merry Christmas Lyra." Silver handed her a cup of hot chocolate.

"Thanks Silver." She smiled softly at him. "And thanks for the hat."

He remember seeing the oversize Mario hat and immediately thought of her so bought it for her as a Christmas present.

"Well are you going to open my present or am I going to have to open it for you?"

He picked up the large wrapped box and shook it but no sound emitted from the action. He opened it careful to preserve the wrapping paper.

"What the Hell?" He pulled out another colourful box. It went on like that until he reached the last box that held a note. _Look inside you bedroom closet_.

He got up and went to his room. He had to admit that he was curious about what Lyra had planned. When he opened it however he regretted his curiosity. An avalanche of number two pencils fell on him. There must have been at least fifty of them!

He turned when he heard someone giggle behind him. He snarled at Lyra but she only laughed harder. "I gave you one pencil for every one I borrowed. There sixty eight pencils altogether but there are only forty in the closet."

"So there's at the most twenty six more pencil traps out there?" He groaned when she nodded. "You're out to get me aren't you?"

"Of course not! Come on, there's still more presents to open!" She grabbed his hand and he allowed her to pull him out.

He didn't open his last present from his Secret Santa however and decided to search for Lyra's pencils instead. He found them in the oddest place. He even had to explain to his sister Blue why he was using a pencil as a toothbrush. By the end of the night he found sixty seven and he could only imagine where the last one was.

"You found them all!" Lyra cheered.

"I still need one more." Silver sighed.

"But I saw you find all the hiding spots." Her brows wrinkled in confusion.

"Maybe I counted them wrong or missed one in the closest." He shrugged.

"I can't wait till it's Valentine." She laughed, "imagine all the pencils I would've borrowed by then."

Silver saw that it was almost midnight and that everyone left except Lyra so told her that she could sleep on the couch since he didn't want her to walk home late at night.

"Hey you didn't your last present." Lyra held out a cylinder shaped present. When he touches it, his hand sank into it yet when he shook it, it made a jingling noise. When he took his time opening it, Lyra took it ripped it open for him.

A colourful quilt swilled over onto their lap. He picked up the thick material and studied the embroidery. It must have been homemade since his name was stitched in the corner surrounded by little bells. He had to admit it was a good present since his blanket was well past it's prime.

He had to laugh at the little picture book sewn onto it. The first scene was off a superhero that was labeled St. Arrogant flying over New York. The next panel was of the reporter, Haley following him in hopes of finding his secret identity. Later she was attacked but then then St. Arrogant smacked and together they defeated Dr. Strange. He laughed at how the two became partners of justice and flew over the city.

"You have to read this Lyra!" He laughed but turned to see she was sleeping on his shoulder. He smiled softly at how innocent she looked when he knew different. Silver picked her up as gently as he could and placed her on his recliner, pushing it back so she wouldn't wake up with a stiff neck. He decided to make good use of his present, so threw it over her and tucked her under it.

He notice something fall out from one of the folds of the quilt. He picked up the pencil and grinned. So she was his Secret Santa and could imagine what inspired her story.

"Merry Christmas Lyra." He pressed his lips softly against her temple.

* * *

Lyra snuggled closer to the bundle of heat beneath her. Something strange happened, the hard lump beneath her shifted and groaned. She rubbed her tired eyes and sat up. She gasped when she realize the soft lump beneath her was Silver. They must have fallen asleep sometime during the night in the large chair. She smiled when she realized they were wrapped around the quilt she made him.

Lyra checked her watch and saw that it was still early and they didn't have to go to work so she decided to stay for a while more. It was more comfortable snuggling against his hard body than she thought it would be. She pulled the thick material around them more and laid her head on his shoulder.

When she woke up later that day, the sun was high in the sky.

"Morning sleepy head." Silver placed a hot mug in her hands. He was dressed and she guessed that he had been up for a while.

"What time is it?" Lyra yawned.

"It's almost noon. I called your sister and told her you slept over so she wouldn't worry about you." He told her. "If you're free this afternoon, I was thinking of taking you out for dinner or we could rent a movie and I'll make us dinner."

This shocked her, they spent time with each other but he never offer to take her out to dinner. "I don't have anything planned and I would love to watch a movie."

He smiled at her and her heart skipped a beat. It must have been the first time she saw him smile and she had to ask what caused the change in him.

"It's a date then." She smiled and was surprise he didn't wince or correct her. "Okay, who are you and what did you do to the anti-social Silver I know?"

Silver threw his head back and laughed. "I guess I felt bad because I forgot to give you my second present?"

"Second?" She tilted her head adorably. Silver began to wonder when he developed deeper feeling for her since he knew they were there for awhile yet only just realize his feeling when he read the story on the quilt.

"You gave me two so it's only fair that I do too."

"How did you find out?" She asked, disappointed that he realized the she was his Secret Santa so quickly.

"You hide the last pencil in the quilt." He explain."

"Okay, so where's my second present?"

"Close your eyes." Silver ordered.

She did as she was told. She heard some rustling then felt something firm pressed against her lips. She opened her eyes in shock and Silver's eyes fill her vision. She closed her eyes and leaned closer to him. She heard him groan deep in her throat, cupped the back of her and once again sent her to heaven. He nipped at her bottom lip begging for entrance. She moaned and he took advantage of it, running his tongue over hers, deepening the kiss. Her arms wrapped around his neck holding him to her.

A loud knocking cutter through their haze. Silver grunted and gave her a quick kiss before going to answer it.

"Hey Silver do you think I can borrow your guitar?" She heard Gold voice come from the doorway. He didn't wait for him to answer before he rushed in.

He saw Lyra sitting on the large recliner with her kiss swollen lips and smirked, "I'm guessing this is a bad time. If you need me to go to the convince store and buy you some-"

"Get out Gold!" Silver screamed pointing towards the door.

Gold laughed as he walked out the door, "See ya Lyra. Some guys get all the luck, don't they? All I got last night was a kick in the face."

"Sorry about that." Silver sighed as he closed the door. He sat and pulled her onto his lap.

"You play guitar?" She asked intrigued. There was so much she still didn't know about him.

"I used to." He shrugged. "So did you like your present?"

"I love it." She giggled, "I think you ruined any kiss I get from now on."

He chuckled deep in his chest. "The kiss wasn't the present, though I'm glad you like it."

"Then what was my present?"

He held up the mistletoe between them and gave her another quick kids that had her heart racing. "If two people kiss under the mistletoe, it's said to bring them good luck. That was my present to you. So do you feel any luckier?"

"Depends. What are you making for me for dinner?" She wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered her question against his lips.

"Stir Fry is my specialty." He answered.

She laughed, "Then yes, I love Chinese food."

He kissed her deeply, taking her breath away. "I think I rather have you right now."

* * *

**Hope you like this even if it's kinda random. I don't know if this is right but I used St. as Sargent. **


	2. Silver's Little Girl

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters.**

**This story was suppose to be a Oneshot but then my sister brought her new daughter home and I got inspired to do a sequel of sorts.**

* * *

_"What do you mean she's gone?" Silver yelled as he grabbed the doctor and shoved him against the wall. "She can't be dead!"_

_"We couldn't stop the bleeding." The doctor stammered._

_"Please Silver, you have to calm down!" Crystal grabbed his arm. When Silver reached for her, Gold grabbed his arm and forced him to sit in the chair._

_"Lyra can't be gone." Silver dropped his head into his hands and silent tears trailed down his cheeks. Everyone that heard his outburst at the hospital gave him compassionate stares but he was oblivious to them. All he could see was Lyra's happy smile when she threw her arms around him that fateful day when she told him she was pregnant._

_"It was going to be difficult for her, we all knew that." Crystal said gently, "She was small but she tried everything to deliver that baby successfully. She knew the risks but was willing to risk it! She did it because she loved you enough to see past the danger! She loved that child before it was even born!"_

_"Be strong little brother." Blue tried to smile for her adoptive brother but it was shaky at best. "We all love her but there's something more important to think about now."_

* * *

_July 14, that day replayed itself in Silver's mind and not for the first time. It had been only a couple weeks since they buried Lyra's body but it felt like years had passed by. He threw his beer bottle towards the growing pile in the corner of the room. He knew that his friends were worried about his health but he felt as if there was nothing to live for. What did it matter that he trapped himself in their apartment that was washed over with angst and darkness. He snorted to himself, it wasn't their apartment now that she wasn't there to drive away the shadows with her sunny smile, it was Hell itself. Why hadn't they killed him yet? He didn't have any reason to go on, not without his wife Lyra._

_He didn't even get the closure of a final good bye. It pained him to think of dying awas the way he was powerless to save her. He would give his life to be able to lessen her pain at least. For God sake, he vowed to protect her when they got married. _

_"Open up Silver!" He heard Gold bang on the door. "We now you're in there."_

_Silver cursed when he heard the door open. He shouldn't have given Gold the key all those years ago. He saw Gold stand in front of him, his arms crossed over his chest and Crystal stood behind him holding a bundle of pink blankets._

_"You may be ready to leave but we are not ready to see you go!" Gold grabbed Silver and forced him to his feet. "You owe it to your daughter!"_

_Gold pointed dramatically to the bundle Crystal was holding, "Are you going to leave her alone in the world? Are you going to leave your own flesh and blood behind wondering what she did for you to hate her? She's innocent! More importantly, she's apart of you AND Lyra!"_

_Gold shoved Silver's limp body back into the chair. "Forget it! I thought you changed when you and Lyra started dating but you reverted back to your old idiot self."_

_"Gold," Crystal touched his arm gently, "You have to remember that he had been through a lot in the past three weeks. Let me try."_

_Crystal walked to where Silver sat motionless. "Just try holding her."_

_It was either Silver took the child or he dropped her so he took the warm bundle from Crystal. Two large silver eyes stared up at him with Lyra's large smile. A few curls of light brown hair were showing from beneath her hat. She was so small he thought he would hurt her if he tightened his grip by the slightest amount. He trailed his finger over her cheek and she burst out laughing. She grabbed his finger and began to gnaw on it._

_Silver laughed, tears falling, "What's her name?"_

_"We haven't named her yet." Crystal said. "We thought you would want to give her a name."_

_"Aries, her name will be Aries." Silver announced. "She'll be named after a constellation, just like her mother."_

_"Don't think we're going to let you do this on your own!" Gold grinned through the tears, "We're going to help you every step of the way. It's for the kid's best interest."_

_Gold and Crystal smiled at the sight of the big man playing with his small child. They both knew that Lyra left a big hole in Silver's heart when she died but maybe Aries could help give Silver a new reason to live._

* * *

_Silver groaned when a cry cut through the air. Maybe it would be better to quit sleep altogether, his daughter seemed to decide that was what she was going to do. This had to be the seventh time she woke him up in the middle of the night that day. He checked and saw that it was just past midnight so it was the first time that morning._

_He grabbed the bottle from the desk and rushed into the nursery. He picked up his little baby and her crying lessened until it turned to little hiccups. She rubbed her eyes against his shoulder and gnawed on her fist so he couldn't tell if she was hungry or tired. Then she let out a content sigh and tightened her hold on his shirt._

_"So you were just lonely in here, weren't you?" He held her against his shoulder and patted her back softly._

_He carried her to his room and placed her on the bed as gently as he could and placed as many pillows as he could find around her. He left the room and came back dragging her crib behind him, mindful to make as little noise as possible. After placing the crib against the wall near his bed he placed little Aries in it._

_He nodded at how right it felt. He would keep his little daughter in his room so he could protect her if anything were to happen._

* * *

_Silver didn't want to have an overly large party for her first birthday since the noise might upset Aries so he decided to only invite Gold, Crystal, Blue and Green. To be honest he didn't want to invite Green but he needed another straight forward man to help keep the party on the down low and he felt obligated to invite his sister's husband._

_"Say cheese!" Blue took a picture of Silver's little girl covered in frosting. Aries face bunched up at the flashing of the camera and let out a loud wail._

_Silver was quick to react and lifted her out of her safety chair. "Shhh, daddy's here for you. Shhh, don't cry now. Daddy's here."_

_"D-Da." Aries blabbed against his neck._

_"That's it Aries!" He placed her on the table and everyone surrounded them. This was the first time she uttered something coherent. "Dad-Dy."_

_He repeated each syllable slowly and Aries imitated him._ _She broke out into a toothless smile and clapped, "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!"_

_Everyone cheered and her father lifted her onto the air making laughter bubble from her._

_Blue quickly snapped a picture of Silver holding his daughter in the air, smiling up at her as if she were a gift from the Gods themselves. Sometimes Blue thought Aries was just that to Silver, she was his reason to live after he lost everything._

* * *

_"Toy!" Aries sweet little voice called out and Silver looked up from his paperwork. He wrote most of his articles at home so that he could spend more time with his daughter and his boss had allowed him to do so. She was entertaining herself with banging her rattle against the furniture._

_Silver turned to see little Aries crawl towards the pile of toys at the corner of the nursery. He smiled but then shot to his feet when something miraculous happened, Aries pushed herself to her feet. He took a camera out from the drawer and turned it on quickly, hoping to have his baby's first steps on camera. Aries pushed herself to her feet. She fell promptly on her diapered behind._

_Silver rushed to her side but when he reached out to help her up she pushed his hands away. He recognize the determine look on the child's face. It was just likes her mother's._

_He understood then was he couldn't always protect her, not if wanted her to grow up to be a strong woman. He had to let her fall so she could know that it was alright for her to fall as long as she got up and try again. She fell a couple more times and Silver felt his heart break each time then swell when she got back up. He closed his eyes not knowing if he could watch and not run to try to protect her. He just wanted to hold her against his chest and protect her from the world._

_He felt something hit his leg and he looked down to see Aries hugging his leg, in her other arm was her favourite stuff bear._

_"That's my little girl." He smiled and lifted her into his arm. She laid her head against his shoulder, rubbing her teddy near beneath her nose. In moments she was asleep and drooling on his neck. "Looks like its nap time for you. You made Daddy so proud."_

* * *

_Silver waited at the entrance of the school, waiting for the bell to ring and for his daughter to run out to him. It was her first day of school and the house was oddly quiet without Aries so he came by early. He heard the kids laugh and a frantic teacher's scream. He just hoped that it wasn't his daughter that was causing such trouble since he told her to behave herself knowing how active she could be._

_"Daddy!" He stood up from his seat on the bench when he heard his daughter's voice. He turned and saw his daughter run towards him with tears in her eyes. He felt rage build up in him but beat it down. He had to deal with his daughter tears first._

_The bow he tied into her hair was askew and there was dirt on her dress but what hurt the most was the tears running down her face. He lifted her into his arms and when he did, he felt sand fall out of her pockets._

_"Freak!" Two young boys ran by and stuck her tongue at her._

_"Meanies!" She reached into her pocket and threw some dirt at them, "I don't care if the sandbox is yours! I'll play in it anyway!"_

_The boys retort died on their tongues when Silver gave them a threatening glare. He couldn't do anything to those brats since he would be setting a bad example for his daughter so he just walked away after giving the kids a good tongue lashing._

_When he got home, Aries threw her bag onto the table and jumped face down on the couch._

_"I hate my eyes!" She screamed. "Why are my eyes ugly?"_

_Silver gently forced her to sit up. "You have my eyes so you hate Daddy's eyes too."_

_"No! I love Daddy! I hate those idiots. When I was playing in the sandbox, they kicked sand at me and told me that I had ugly eyes so I couldn't play on the sandbox! I couldn't punch them since you told me to be good so I took the sand and went somewhere else to play. They lie and said I stole the sand from them and the teacher believed them!"_

_"Boys will be idiots." He gave her a loving pat on the head._

_"But Daddy's a boy and you're not stupid." She crooked her head adorably that reminded of his late wife._

_"That's because Daddy is Superman!" He declared and she beamed when he easily lifted her above his head. After letting 'fly' around the room a few times, he placed her on her countertop as he prepared dinner._

_"Did you know Daddy use to hate his eyes too? I thought that everyone had wonderful eyes with special colours, just look at uncle Gold, he has amber eyes. I wondered why mine were just plain grey. Did you know who made me love my eyes?"_

_Aries shook her head and guessed, "Auntie Blue?"_

_He shook his head. "It was your Mommy. She told me one day that the first thing she noticed about me when we first met was my eyes. She told me they were special, that they were like cold steel yet held a fire. I thought it was the craziest thing but I will always remember that smile she had when she told me that."_

_Silver turned so his daughter wouldn't see the single tear that escaped his resolve. After all these years his love for Lyra still burned brightly. Two small arms wrapped around his neck and he turned to see his daughter._

_"I love you Daddy."_

* * *

_"Do you like it Daddy?" Aries held out the little book to him. "I drew the pictures and wrote it! Auntie Crystal helped me print it and make the writing pretty."_

_He flipped through the book and recognized the storyline. It was seemed to be a sequel of the story from the quilt that Lyra had made them for their first Christmas together. Tears rolled out of his eyes as memories washed over him._

_He lifted her onto his lap. "I don't like it..."_

_Tears started to form in Aries eyes. "... Because I love it!"_

_"Happy birthday Daddy!" She threw her arms around him. "I'll read it to you tonight!"_

_"I love you, Aries." He held her tighter against him and buried his head in her hair._

* * *

_"But why can't I go?" Aries stomp her feet. "Allie said she was going to throw me a party and that everyone from school was going!"_

_"I said you can't go and that's final!" Silver snapped back. "Blue is waiting. You should spend your thirteenth birthday with your family."_

_"But we go every year." She wined, "Why can't I miss this one year?"_

_Aries didn't give her father a chance to answer before she stabbed him with her verbal knife. "It's because you hate me! Well I hate you too!"_

_Silver was so shock, he didn't stop his daughter when she ran out the door. In fact he was so caught up in his self hatred that he didn't even hear the door slam. Feeling as if there was a lump in his chest, he walked out the door._

_Aries ended up going to the park as her father had wanted, only he wasn't anywhere in sight. They would go out to the park on her birthday and have a picnic with their friends and family. It would get dark but they would still party though Silver would take her home early._

_Aries sat at the picnic table feeling bored out of her mind. Blue sat next to her._

_"Where's your Poppa, honey?" Blue nudged her playfully._

_"I don't know and I don't care. I hate him." Blue jumped back as if struck._

_"Sweetie, I know your father could be difficult but that's no reason to hate him. Now tell Auntie Blue what he did and I'll talk to him."_

_"He hates me and wants to ruin my life. Allie threw me a party but Daddy won't let me go! Everyone was going to be there!"_

_"And is everyone more important than your Poppa and family?" Blue asked in a gentle voice._

_Aries felt shame wash over her. "No but..."_

_"I don't think you know how important you are to your father. When your mother died…" Tears gathered at the edge of eyes, "Oh look at me tearing up at the thought, it was so long ago. After Lyra…I thought your father would die from grief. Then your aunt brought you to him and it was as if someone had put life back into him. It was you. You became his reason to live."_

_"Do you know why your Poppa always throws your birthday party here?" Crystal interrupted her as she took a seat across from Aries. "It's because this was where he proposed to your mother and later got married. When he's here, he can think of all their happy days. He doesn't want you to see him sad on your special day so he spends it here so he would be less sad."_

_"He visits your mother's grave after you go to sleep." Gold came and put his hand on his wife's shoulder. "He never misses a year. Rain or shine, he's there."_

_Aries went to bed with those thoughts in her head. She never knew her father was still grieving over her mother. Why wouldn't he tell her? She was also worried since he never came to the picnic._

_She pretended to be a sleep when she heard her father creep in and kiss her on the forehead, saying 'good night' before leaving. She counted to ten then grabbed her jacket and followed him._

_He was at her mother's grave but all he did was stand there. She hid behind a tree and watched him. Ten whole minutes went by and didn't say anything. She was about to leave when her father spoke._

_"I miss you Lyra." He paused as if he was waiting for her to respond. "Aries turned thirteen today. You should see the little firecracker we made. She's got my pride but she also has your temperament and I don't know what God was thinking when he put the two together. It's hard without you here but Crystal and Blue are helping as much as they could. Hate to admit it but Gold had also been a lot of help too._

_"Do you want to hear me play my guitar? I know I didn't play for you enough when you were... Funny how you don't realize these kind of things until it's too late."_

_Silver sat on the dirt ground and strummed his guitar but he didn't sing to her, wanting to talk to her instead. "Aries is growing up so fast that it scares me. Told me she hated me today. It was only a matter of time, all kids make that mistake eventually but it still hurts. I don't want her to go off and party with those wild children. This is the part where you argue with me that I have to trust her and in my defense I do trust her, it's those idiots I don't trust._

_"I wish you were here, you'll know what to do... you always do. There's so much of you in her, your sunny smile, your stubbornness, and your curiosity. Lord knows that last trait drives me crazy sometimes but I wouldn't have it any other way. I wonder when she'll forgive me for being such an overprotective jerk or of she'll hate me forever..."_

_Silver trailed off, tears running down his face. Aries didn't realize she was crying until a fat tear hit her hand. Her father was crying. He **never** cried. He was the strongest and bravest man in the world. Unable to hide any longer, she rushed forward and hugged her father._

_"I'm sorry Daddy! I don't hate you!"_

_"It's okay Aries, kids sometimes say things they don't mean. Aries you should be in bed, you'll catch a cold." He pulled her jacket around her tighter. Aries held onto her father's hand tightly as they said bye to her mother. She decided then that she would never doubt her father again._

* * *

_"Are you sure you have everything?" Silver asked as he helped Aries put her luggage in the trunk of her car._

_"Don't worry dad." Aries laughed. "I'll be fine."_

_"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you to the university?" Silver asked more for his sake than her. It broke his heart to see his little girl grow up into an independent woman._

_"It's only a couple hour drive and I'll be back for Christmas." She reassured him. "Now go to bed. We don't want you blood pressure to rise anymore."_

_Silver hugged her and watch her car drive away before turning to go back inside. When he turned his heart skipped a beat. In the doorway was his wife._

_"You did a great job with her." She touched his cheek gently. She looked as if she had aged the same as he and her white dress trailed behind her. "I love you Silver."_

* * *

"Wake up Silver!" He heard Gold yell and it shook him out of his sleep. He opened his eyes and was blinded by the hospital lights. "This is no time for you to be sleeping!"

"Let him be Gold." Crystal hit him over the head. "You okay? You fainted when they told you that the baby was coming out the wrong way. You've been out for a couple hours."

It had all been a dream, Lyra was still alive a currently having his baby! Fragments of his dream rushed back to Silver and his heart started racing. He threw the blanket off him and rushed to the room Lyra was located in. His heart dropped when he saw it was empty. They couldn't be gone. He needed at least one of them in his life.

"Mr. Campbell?" A nurse tapped him on his shoulder.

"Where is she? Where's my wife?" He demanded.

"She's in the other room." The nurse led him down the hall until they stopped at the last room. Silver rushed in and saw Lyra playing with a little baby's fingers.

She looked up and smile at him, "This is your daddy. Say hello to him."

He walked over to the side of the bed and gave her a quick kiss. He buried his head in her hair and buried his head in her neck, tears overflowing. She was alive.

"Blue told me you passed out and hit your head. I was worried." Lyra whispered.

"Gold woke me." Silver smiled through the tears in his eyes.

"Did you have a nightmare? You look a little pale." She touched his cheek, concerned.

"At first it was, but it got better." He took the baby from Lyra's arms. "Did you name her yet?"

Lyra shook her head, "I was waiting for you to help me name her."

"Aries, I want to name her Aries."

"I love it!" Lyra beamed. "Welcome to the world Aries."

* * *

**Ha! I tricked you! Lyra didn't die and it was just a dream! To be honest it started out that way but I found I didn't have the heart to kill her.**

**I think Silver was a better choice than Lyra just because he seem like that kind of guy. Congrats to whoever figured it out before they read the last scene.**


End file.
